North Carolina man uses hammer to smash display case, steals ring, pepper sprays store employee, police say

By Stephanie Moore

Click here for updates on this story

    GASTONIA, North Carolina (WYFF) — A North Carolina man has been charged after authorities say he used a hammer to smash out the glass of a wedding ring display case at Kohl’s, pepper sprayed a female employee who approached him and stole jewelry valued at $80,000.

This happened in January at the Kohl’s on East Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia, North Carolina.

After the armed robbery, detectives released surveillance video of the suspect.

Investigators said they received numerous tips and ultimately identified 31-year-old James Randall Willard as the suspect.

After identifying Willard, detectives said they learned that he was in jail in another county on an unrelated charge.

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Willard charging him for the Kohl’s armed robbery.

He was taken to the Gaston County Jail and is being held on a $52,000 bond.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.